Hsin Tung Yang Sesame flavored dried bean curd: Dried bean curd is one of my favorite Taiwanese snacks and is not quite like anything I've had from American grocery stores. Fried bean curd, saturated in sesame oil, is wrinkled almost like an enlarged raisin, but comes in large strips like beef jerky. It has an intensely savory sweet chili-garlic flavor and leaves your fingers and tongue slick with a (unhealthy) coating of grease, which undoubtably adds to its deliciousness. I can't say exactly where this bag was from as my parents had i... (read more)4.0/5.0

Otafuku x Medetai Red Bean Taiyaki: Otafuku x Medetai is a small Japanese to-go street food shop in the East Village specializing in okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and taiyaki. Taiyaki is a classic Japanese dessert with a fish-shaped waffle exterior and different fillings inside (traditionally red bean). They make all their taiyaki from scratch here, filling their detailed custom molds with batter and producing 6 fishies at a time, all of which you can watch. This was probably the freshest taiyaki I've had -- it came out pipping h... (read more)4.5/5.0

Golden Steamer Red Bean Bun: Here's a classic Chinese bao favorite from Golden Steamer in NYC, filled with sweet red bean paste that is surprisingly mild in sweetness, especially compared to the typical sugar bomb you get elsewhere. Surrounded by soft and plump steamed white bread. This one is not bad, but it isn't especially interesting. If you like red bean buns, you will enjoy it, but it will taste like you expect it will. Costs under $1. 3.0/5.0

Beanitos White bean Mac n cheese crunch: These corn-alternative snacks have an irregular crunchy texture with a similar size to puffed Cheetos. The Mac n Cheese flavor is just a marketing spin on cheddar (more on an actual cheese puff whose flavor resembles boxed Mac and cheese in a forthcoming review). They have a slightly less neutral taste than regular corn puffs, with an aftertaste that resembles wheat snacks. Not bad, but not particularly memorable. 3.0/5.0

Chia pod Vanilla bean chia pudding: Chia seed pudding that contains a handy mini spoon and tastes of vanilla and cinnamon equally. Thick consistency that may be a turn off for those used to pudding packs but totally normal for people familiar with chia seed pudding. Overall, a sweet and well balanced snack. 3.5/5.0

iTea Matcha milk tea with boba and red bean: This matcha drink from iTea in SF contains red bean and boba as default toppings. While the matcha milk tea was decent, the red bean was heavily sweetened so that this 30% sweetness beverage tasted more like a normal 100% sweetened drink. Texturally, the red bean also seemed canned as it was slightly too soft. As a result, I’d recommend getting the drink but skipping the red bean topping. 2.5/5.0